Written by LineStar Fantasy Life Coach @ZeroInDenver.

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Welcome to the NHL Hat Trick.

ICYMI - The NHL Season Preview & Strategy guide goes over the basics of NHL DFS and what I look for when researching players.

We still get a solid seven-game slate tonight. Let's dive in...

Tonight's Slate

Here's numbers on the teams from their past 10 games. Generally, I start my research by looking for teams in good spots. For example, teams that score goals (GF60) that are facing teams that give up goals (GA60). I also look at teams that shoot a lot (CF60) that are facing teams that give up a lot of shots (CA60).

Based on this, teams that stand out to me are Washington, Florida, Vegas, Vancouver, and (gulp) Winnipeg

Line Stacks

I always make it a habit of stacking against the worst teams on the slate, and Buffalo has been one of the worst teams in the NHL this season. Overall, I prefer a WAS1 stack.

This is kind of funky with Florida, but I think I like a FLA2 stack with Barkov for the PP1 correlation or a pure PP1 stack.

Vegas lines got shuffled a little this morning. I'll have shares of the top two lines, but I prefer the Marchessault-Karlsson-Smith line tonight.

Back to what I said about stacking against bad teams... Ottawa hasn't been playing well. I expect the top two lines for Vancouver to be popular. They're both in a good spot. I prefer the second line for Vancouver but will have shares of both.

Risk It For The Biscuit

Winnipeg is one of the hardest teams for me to get right. It seems like they fail whenever I have heavy shares of them, and they go off when I don't, but they ranked pretty well for me tonight so I'm going to give it another shot. I prefer WPG1 for the full correlation and will try to include Connor in that stack where I can.

Goaltender Rankings

How to Read This: 

I'm giving you a comparison of LineStar projections vs the average fantasy points scored over their last 10 games. I've also given you their save percentage (over 0.910 is ideal), goals allowed (lower is better), saves per game (more is better), GAA (Goals Saved Above Average), and my projected upside for each goalie.

Generally, if I'm stacking a team, I'll correlate a goalie if I can. In GPPs, I may not have the salary to make this work. In this case, I usually spend down on someone that I expect will take a lot of shots and could pick up the W.

As always - double-check that your goalie is starting before the game starts.

My Favorites:

CASH: Thatcher Demko - VAN (DK: $8000, FD: $7000)

GPP: Jaroslav Halak - BOS (DK: $7700, FD: $7900)

Forwards and Defensemen Rankings

How to Interpret C/D/W charts: In NHL DFS, I think it's most important to look at peripheral stats instead of goals which is why I put so much emphasis on shots. This includes shot attempts, high danger shot attempts (those shot attempts closest to the net with the highest probability of going into the net), shots on goal, and scoring chances. I've included projections and average fantasy points to see how each compares so you can more easily find value.

Center

My Favorite

Aleksander Barkov - FLA (DK: $6900, FD: $7400)

I did some early builds and have a ton of Barkov tonight. He's been on fire lately and think his streak continues tonight against Chicago.

Wing

My Favorite:

Dillon Dube - CGY (DK: $3300, FD: $4200)

I don't have a ton of interest in Calgary tonight, but I love Dube's recent shot volume and think he's a worthy punt for the price.

Defensemen

My Favorite

Shayne Gostisbehere - PHI (DK: $4700, FD: $4400)

I said this last time, but I love to go after PP1 defenseman that come in under $5K.

Bottom of the Barrel

Here are my cheap calls for a skater to pick up a goal or assist.

Carl Soderberg: CHI - C (DK: $ 3700, FD: $ 3200)

Anthony Duclair: FLA- W (DK: $3400, FD: $4000)

Josh Morrissey: WPG - D (DK: $ 4100, FD: $ 4500)

Disclaimer: Keep in mind, plays and thoughts listed are my own. You should all do your own research and you might (and probably should) disagree with me in some spots. Don't be afraid to go your own way.

Good luck today! Tag me in the LineStar Chat @ZeroInDenver if you have any questions or feedback. Follow me on Twitter @ZeroInDenver.

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